_Ben_

I have been playing around with seeing what I can extract from within the game of late. There are so many things stored away in different places that can be adapted, including the views available on the Team Squad: This is not something I'd use, in this form, but it's made up pretty much entirely of data that is not normally available to select here. Been working hard trying to get chalkboard stats in a position whereby they are all accessible at the same time and I can export, which is something I'd like to do for some data collection within my own save, but I've not had much luck yet. EDIT: Again, big mess but managed to get all the match stats to show on one page. I can't fathom how to make this 'exportable' as the Print Screen function returns a blank page. Whilst not pretty, this data export is the reason I'd be amending said panel...

I've upped continental competitions to Main Stages from all across the world and have also set the top league of the Big 5 (with the goal that, eventually, I will manage there) to full detail as well as the top tiers of Denmark, Finland and Norway so that Scandinavia feels more 'complete' in terms of statistically gathering. I've also set the top two tiers of Sweden and the U19 league so that I can beef up my appraisals on the youngsters I bring in. Because I already had a lot of players loaded - circa 110,000 - adding the new leagues will likely mean that the game balances itself out at 180/190k players, which is more than I've ever used before, too. I, too, am conscious of the drain that this will have: it has moved it from five stars down to three and a half. I'm not trying to rush through this save and find myself doing other things whilst the game progresses but I don't want it to grind to a halt!

@SixPointer - you're back! Lovely bit of tactical work there. I've never been a fan of the 4231 shape with central midfielders instead of defensive midfielders as I worry about the lack of defensive cover. However, you seem to have it covered!

I've been reading a lot lately and that is usually a catalyst for thinking about my FM save, with this one being no different. The book in question is The Nowhere Men: The Unknown Story of Football's True Talent Spotters, tales of how scouts work and vast recruitment networks are built across big clubs. What is also interesting, for me, is that this book was written eleven years ago now, with a focus on Damien Comolli and his time at Liverpool. I know just how much technology and styles have moved on but I do feel that it's such an under-represented part of FM, particularly at the very early age group.. I don't want the say but I want to know what goes on at under 15 level and how that shapes the players I've got coming through: is it my local scouts that do that or do we have foreign based youth scouts that are picking up players from hotspots? What hotspots are they? The list goes on. The other thing that I was interested in is the sheer amount of games watched and how that triggers the recruitment drive and not the other way round. I felt that this was something that I could interpret into FM but, to do that, needed a much bigger database. I have a decent laptop and have pushed the boundaries a little more anyway but my new setup gives me the stats, below: The new intended league setup adds basically all of Europe's playable decent leagues so that I can continue to attend matches and push my scouts out there, building that database of players. Furthermore, adding South Africa and improving the detail level of the CAF Champions League means that I may now be able to do more than just guess on African imports, which have been a target of mine lately. My only concerns when doing this are those random over-aged newgens that are added, and a test save confirmed that they'd likely be some; I just find it really unrealistic to be signing a 27 year old who has no career history to date and, as such, no backstory or statistics to work with. With this though, my plan is to really develop hubs in certain countries - either here or further along my journey, where I can instruct my team to watch matches, learn about players and clubs and bring in the best quality. Since this screenshot, I've also increased the detail level, taking the game speed down to three and a half stars, ensuring I'm getting the most accurate statistics from the some of the loaded leagues. In addition to that, and with absolute influence from @Shrewnaldo - I have created a filter that covers the 49 municipalities of Västra Götaland County (Swedish: Västra Götalands län), an area covering the western coast of Sweden. The county is the second most populous of Sweden's counties; Its population of 1,616,000 amounts to 17% of Sweden's population. The formal capital and seat of the governor of Västra Götaland County is Gothenburg. The political capital and seat of the Västra Götaland Regional Council is Vänersborg. With 23 players at the club currently from Vastra Gotaland, excluding loanees JBK, Collins Persson, Rahm and Wigermo, who all hail from Boras or nearby Goteborg, I really want to create a stronghold in our domestic game too - using our 'quicker than planned' league title to push the credentials and assist in the development of Skovde - our ex-feeder team now at our level, third tier Norrby and second tier FC Trollhättan‎, all producers of this local talent. However, before reaching this decision, I'd already made three more moves in the transfer market: Atilla Zsigmund - a product of the Kalmar youth system, who had his breakout in the second tier, scoring five and creating another five in thirty appearances last term - comes in to fill a gap across several areas. I felt, through pre-season, that we were a little light with another runner in midfield but also a fourth or even fifth winger - given that Rapp, Okkels and Bernhardsson can all be utilised elsewhere, and would often need to be the case in my second string XI. Atilla, at just €700k, is a powerful ball progresser who can also finish his chances. Whilst he is a little rough around the edges, and I noticed this when watching back highlights of him: passing and first touch in particular, he represents a player pretty well suited to a number of the roles I use. He'll rotate in and out of the first team setup over the coming months. Asael Ben-Sha’anan is the perfect example of why I want to beef up the game setup and load more leagues. He's plying his trade in Israel but, astoundingly, our scouting team found him before any of the bigger academies across the continent; surely this has something to do with the lack of a modelled Israeli league. The Hapoel Nir Ramat HaSharon man - a second tier club - has the most goals and assists for his side this season but there is very little other data to drive that. Of course, it's then also impossible to watch him play as the club have no schedule and are not willing to even entertain the thought of a friendly. So he was fully scouted and still was considered a top talent, forcing my hand and €240k from my pocket. It's peanuts, in the grand scheme of things, but it's one of those where - if I want to feel realistic - I don't make. The Libyan's I brought into my youth system were different - that's identification for academy purposes and I mould and develop from there but I wouldn't fancy my club signing a player who they've never watched play! That being said... ...when an agent approaches you will a youngster from the Cook Islands, you kind of have to sit up and take notice, right? Harlem Strickland - at just 19 - is the first ever Cook Island international, I believe - to be on a contract that is not amateur and to play outside of Oceania. Their squad is entirely domestic players with a spattering of players who represent teams in the fifth, and lower, tier of New Zealand football, which is hardly the pinnacle of the Oceanic game! I think it goes without saying that I've never managed someone of this nationality before and, should he actually be any good, have no idea how often the international windows are but, credit where it is due, his agent got him in the shop window. He's a bit of a brute, to be honest and lacks in some pretty basic decision making but my staff feel that there is potential there than can be harnessed. He's good in the tackle, tall, two footed and naturally fit and I think something like a ball winning midfielder might allow him to make the most of that skillset. A conveyor belt of talent is what is needed here. Players who can come in, develop for a short whilst and step into the first team. With interest in several first team players (Soderberg, Wester, Rapp, Ilunga, Brusberg, Kallander, Jeng and Ayari at time of writing), I need to accept that - if the likes of Leverkusen make a bid for Brusberg - he'll, realistically, have to go: you 'can't' keep a young Swedish international in Sweden when Germany is calling! That puts further pressure on my recruitment, my early development and my player pathway but that is one of the parts of the game that I love! --- We are through twelve games of the 2028 season now and we are, quite frankly, making a mockery of the majority of our competition at the moment. Solid progress in the Svenska Cup has seen us reach the final, where we look to avenge last year's defeat to Hammarby as well as strong progress in Europe. Successful knockout tie wins over Famalicao and Dunajska Streda - of Slovenia - have seen us creep into the Semi Finals, where, inevitably, our dream will end as we didn't get the rub of the green with Lens or Gladbach and instead drew Chelsea. Our league season has started brightly, too, with eight goals and none conceded from the first three games. It is, however, just the one game that I want to focus on here, rather than fully rounding up the fixture list. I've thought, and posted, a lot about our in-possession shapes - trying to exploit spaces within opposition defences or overload weaker areas. However, I've rarely talked and, for that matter, thought, too much about our defensive organisation - beyond the movement between the 4231 shape that I employed earlier in the save and the 433 that I often use now. However, the screenshot below, in the 6-1 hammering of Malmo, demonstrates something I've been wanting to achieve for some time. I decided on using two inverted wing backs to create 235 shape in transition, taking into account the fact that Malmo employed a double Mezzala in the middle and, as such, there would be significant amounts of space early in the build up. It was, however, not that which really impressed me. Analysing their team, it became obvious that one particular Mezzala - Kyprianou - was almost acting as a false playmaker and was much deeper than the other one. The ball often went through the DM to the Mezzala who looked to drive forward. To counter that, I set a very specific trap, pushing the player instructions for my centre mid - Noor Ouma - on to mark the space that the DM would employ, then asking Soderberg - my own DM - to push on and mark the space that the Mezzala would employ. This allowed a much better ball winner to be near to their danger man, without changing the way that we transitioned and kept my best ball carrier available. Here, Soderberg wins the ball and is higher up than Noor Ouma but, because I've committed an extra man to that, we are able to counter really quickly via the left sided IW and have a 5v5 going. Over the course of the game, he won the ball four times from the Malmo's Cypriot midfielder and was instrumental in the pre-assist pass as we repeatedly punished them on the counter. A small change but a hugely effective one!

He's got deep lying forward written all over him, for me! Not that you necessarily start with them but could be a good option to change the 2-1 into a 1-2 at some point in a game? Seeing attention to detail, such as this, does make me miss numerical attributes at times!

Thanks for the kind words! I am presuming you mean looking at attributes not on the player profile as they are all displayed differently and, instead, are looking at places like here: To change that, you'd need to go into Football Manager 2024\skins\Statman\graphics\tcs\icons\attribute bar, where you'll see this: Currently, the notepad file for '14' is as follows: <properties> <!-- <record id="image_slices" left="25" right="25" top="25" bottom="25"/> --> <colour id="red_replacement" name="good attribute"/> <colour id="blue_replacement" name="bg"/> <colour id="green_replacement" name="bg"/> </properties> If you change the red replacement to name="excellent attribute" that will then show as gold, or whatever you have defined it as in the settings file. Let me know if that helps!

Really like this Shrew! Certainly one of those things that I've always thought of writing about but have never committed, properly, to words.

This little bit is, actually, the most interesting for me and one I hadn't hugely considered. Providing that the roles don't change, I can create a year-on-year comparison in this area with a benchmark value and, if the roles do change or the 'type' of player is significantly different, I can view the effectiveness of this change.

No offense taken, at all! My intention - aside from this desire to recreate real life stuff within FM - is to really use this to categorise players within my intended style of play. As a manager who favours a counter attacking style, I have an inbuilt desire for my players to successfully progress the ball. However, I think that I can use these metrics, in combination with more generic ones to help fine tune my decisions, but, realistically, not use it as a tool for recruitment. My thoughts are that I can split the players into two categories: High percentile: The player is very safe, not losing the ball much or the player is good at progressing the ball and dribbling. Low percentile: The player very unsafe, losing the ball a lot through risky passes or the player is poor at progressing the ball and dribbling. That information, alone, would make Brusberg my 'weakest' player, ranking in the 27th percentile. Yet, I can dig deeper and see that he contributed 2.16 dribbles per90 and lost the ball under nine times per game - very decent metrics. His issue, as a striker, is that he is unable to progress the ball and only records 1.36 per 90, which is poor. Therefore, in terms of that 'progressions per possession loss metric' he's decent at two of the three things that make it up. Yet, when you then add in that he's scored at 0.80 goals per 90, with an average shot xG of 0.17 and a 21% conversion ratio across a whole season, you'd then think that actually - for him - this stat isn't hugely important. Going back to real life and looking a little deeper at Grealish's outputs, below - with him in the 99th percentile overall - you can see that he makes up his numbers by progressive passes (50th percentile) and progressive carries (96th percentile) whilst then being pretty safe in possession with his 17.9% Tkld percentage (meaning the percentage of times he is tackled by a defender whilst attempting to take someone on) being inside the top 10 of all players in the premier league, and being the hardest to tackle forward by some distance on that list (Michael Olise is number 24 with 25% tackled percentage). Does this make Jack good? It doesn't really say from the outset but I'd suggest he's still safe in possession - not because he's playing simple balls (maybe someone like Kilman and certainly Konsa is doing more so) but because he's hard to tackle when dribbling. We obviously don't have this depth of data in FM but my takeaway, for my team, from that data I produced is that the duty selection is working pretty much as standard. My more aggressive players are more risky in possession rather than performing badly and thus scoring lower but a low rating in that and poor outcomes on the pitch may be the trigger to look into the suitability of both player and role. Additionally, my defenders are safe with the ball rather than excellent progressors but that'd be expected given the Defend duties.

I wanted to start off the season with a tactical thought, inspired from some X browsing. The tweet, below, really made me think about the progression effectiveness of my squad, considering that we are now a team that does maintain possession a lot more than my pure counter attacking sides of the past. To create this metric, I have used a total of progressive passes per 90 and dribbles per 90 divided by possession lost per 90. This is not entirely accurate with how it is calculated in real life as I cannot measure progressive dribbles and include a dribble that, in game, may have not gone forwards at all. I do not know what the percentiles are compared with in the tweet, but, given that the Allsvenskan is now inside the top fifteen European leagues, I have decided to include them all, in order to get a broader picture. The author completed this for most teams but I felt that it was interesting to use the caption that talked about a low score - indicating that the player is in a lower percentile for successful ball progressions because I have three very different groupings within my team and you can see that Man City, from the right image, have almost two complete outliers, also. KDB is an elite creator and I know that I have nobody that even can be compared to him but he is so high risk with the ball and his total outputs are going to be massively skewed by the times he loses the ball, trying to make that incisive pass. I feel that I have this really clearly demonstrated here: more risk = less ball progression. It is so clear that the three lowest ranked players - Brusberg, Noor Ouma and Okkels - are the three players within the squad who utilise the Attacking duty for their role (I am also aware that Okkels and Brusberg are the most advanced and, therefore, further progression is 'harder' too). Behind them, the three players on a Support duty - Soderberg, Ayari and Paulo Vitor - make up the three next places, with my Defend duties being the safest. They make up their numbers not through dribbles but through progressive passses and fewer balls lost, given the fact that I have, at minimum, four players ahead of them with at least one usually un-marked. I just thought that it, to me, felt like a really clear way to demonstrate risk through role choice. An interesting bit of comparative work would be to change Noor Ouma from a CM(a) to a Mez(s), for example, utilising some player instructions to get him breaking into the box the same amount but, overall, playing with 'less risk' in his game. Likewise, if I reach a point whereby I want to slow progression down, a Lib(d) would surely increase Paulo Vitor's 'safety' whilst still allowing me to create attacking structures, just from a safer perspective. Our overall approach is already Positive so then I, again, wonder what extent this would be changed should it drop down to Balanced, for example. With those thoughts also come a couple of ideas for different methods of build up - which is, essentially, what the end goal is here: achieve multiple effective methods of transitioning between defence and attack, giving ourselves the best opportunities to score, whilst not over committing players and becoming exposed defensively. The two newest ideas are a 2323 build up that utilises IWB(s) and DM(s) - but my issue here is that both full backs are naturally not great at build up play and both converted wingers are also not of that type. The narrow 343 box build up - with IWB(s), HB(d) and CAR(s) - alleviates one of the inverted wing backs and I can, probably, make that work but I was a little disappointed at how wide the double Carrilero middle went, hoping to create more of a trapeze rather than a very narrow box. The aim is for me to now be able to spot these opportunities, mid game, where a slight change can help unlock a defence! --- I have been busy in the transfer market, too, raising €7m in player sales: Baidoo went to Kortrijk for €1.2m, Riasco moved to Antwerp for €4m, Lahdo went to second tier Schalke for €1.5m, Karlsson moved to Famalicao for €190k and Berndtsson went to Kasimpasa for €115k. Additionally, several loan deals were procured to allow my youngsters to develop; particularly interestingly are the three, Wegermo, Persson and Boukama-Kaya, who all moved to second tier German side Osnabruck, a level actually on a par with our top tier. They all played a big part in Skovde's promotion as to the top flight last year and I'm excited to see how they do. All of the other deals were made once I had decided that I was able to improve the player. In the images below, the departing player is on the right with their replacement on the left: Full profiles can be seen by clicking on thumbnails of both incoming and outgoing transfers, below. First in was Isak Mulugeta, a man with the strangest trio of nationalities I've ever seen! At €1.4m, potentially rising to €1.7m from title rivals Djurgardens, he represents a fairly bit outlay, even if that is offset by Baidoo's sale. I felt that having a more creative player in the middle of the park would enable us to unlock more defences and create more chances, and that is just what Isak brings. Whilst, statistically, he's not performed amazingly well for the title chasers, he's demonstrated, both here attribute-wise and in-game, that he's far better on the ball than his replacement, who utilised his engine more often. As someone on the fringes of the Djurgardens squad, starting only four times last year and still only being twenty-one, he's certainly a player who came 'now' to avoid the 'later' additional costs and, with interest from Ajax at the same time, probable lack of interest from moving further afield. After an unsettled start to the transfer window with widespread interest in Brusberg, I felt reluctant to let Riasco leave. But, a new contract for last season's top scorer meant that I felt confident cashing in on the Venezuelan, who came in to the club for nothing. There was significant interest from the top clubs outside the big five leagues and it was Antwerp that offered the most, so I allowed him to leave. My shortlist for a replacement was quite vast but, in the end, I opted for a risky move - of a player who fits inside the recruitment policies of partially Swedish and returning from a spell abroad. The big 'issue' here is that Pontus Dahbo cannot, currently, operate as a striker. Much like Brusberg before him, my plan for the Trequartista role is to use a more creative, tehnical midfielder to link play. Knowing that he has a great first touch and is pretty nippy, as well as a liking for one-twos and killer balls makes me feel that he could be ideal in that role, should he retrain well. At 22, Napoli made a loss on him, selling him for €200k less than the €1.7m they purchased him for in 2025. Despite being on the fringes of the Napoli squad, I was able to watch U20 games that he was able to feature in (the rule is no more than five over-20 players, so he featured when the fixture wasn't used for rehabilitation purposes) and look back at his 2025 season with Hacken, where he fully broke into the first team, playing twenty times. I realise that this goes very much again the fluidity grain that I'm trying to build and puts all my eggs into one type of striker basket but it certainly worked last summer with Brusberg and I hope it'll work again! At a cost of €1.5m, Kai Ekroth brings Champions League experience and a two-footed option, who can operate a similar job on both flank. Karlsson, the outgoing full back was never deemed to be defensively secure for me - although the stat padding from easier appearances would suggest otherwise. I had identified both IFB(d) roles as needing an upgrade and I think that Ekroth could do that, as he is taller, more physical and stronger defensively. The most eye catching part of his build though is the fact that he's comfortable with both feet and is able to play competently on both sides of the defence. This provides me with a huge opportunity to rest the likes of Jeng, Mbacke and Paulo Vitor as the season goes on. The FC Nordsjælland academy has been producing some amazing Swedish players, with Taha, Pettersson, Soderqvist and Strobeck all on my radar. However, it was Holmstrom who I went for in the end, as an upgrade on the physically-reliant Berndtsson in the centre back role, initially providing support for Eriksson, my summer arrival from Norrkoping. Despite the comfort of being able to play further forward, Daniel - in my eyes - does not yet possess the quality to do so and I will rely on the fact that he's an aerial and defensive upgrade on Kasper. He's had a bit of exposure to the first team in Denmark but, of all my incomings, in the furthest away from being ready to step up and was considered on ability for a man of his age and suitability for the role I want to use him in. At €1.2m, I hope he won't let me down! All in all, €5.5m has us as the biggest spenders but we are still active in continental competition - thus receiving income - and have secured, at least, a playoff spot in the Champions League next year. What is more, I am now feeling more confident in the versatility in my team, as seen by the Venn diagrams, below: Each area can - pretty easily - be split into three main positions or types with further analysis able to be conducted for those that, for example are: Right Back and Inverted Wing Back (D) or Right Back and Wing Back (S). I have the most versatility within the defensive areas, but most of that comes with the additions of Okkels and Bernhardsson, who can only play as really attacking wing backs. I really like that both IFB(d) options - Mbacke and Jeng are converted centre backs but I can then use Ekroth as a more progressive and risk taking passer without losing that presence. In midfield, I feel like I could be a little short, but the signing of Mulugeta will help in the creator role as Brusberg and Dahbo are, hopefully, going to be used elsewhere. Noor Ouma is really strong but that still only leaves me with three players for the two roles (including Ayari) as Ilunga and Soderberg occupy the deeper role unless we are facing tough opposition. Up top, again, I could break it down into roles: Kallander is more a creator, despite playing in the IW(s) role and could easily be an AP(s) out wide, whereas Okkels and Bernhardsson are very much inverted wingers, with focus on direct dribbling. After selling Lahdo and not replacing him directly, I'm hoping that there is enough cover - especially with JBK, Al-Ruwaili and Bashiru being out on loan, although all have joined central European clubs and, as such, will be back in July. --- We've got a Svenska Cup competition to focus on as well as a Conference League double header with Famalicao on the horizon. The plan is to bed in the squad through friendlies and see if we are in a good enough position before the window shuts!

Changed the class in person properties.xml then added one of these for each foot: <class class="left_foot" parent="position_role_duty_star_range_based_picture"> <list id="value_list"> <record value="0" file="tcs/icons/foot/left_foot" red_replacement="low attribute background"/> <record value="1" file="tcs/icons/foot/left_foot" red_replacement="low attribute background"/> <record value="2" file="tcs/icons/foot/left_foot" red_replacement="low attribute background"/> <record value="3" file="tcs/icons/foot/left_foot" red_replacement="low attribute background"/> <record value="4" file="tcs/icons/foot/left_foot" red_replacement="low attribute background"/> <record value="5" file="tcs/icons/foot/left_foot" red_replacement="bg range4"/> <record value="6" file="tcs/icons/foot/left_foot" red_replacement="bg range4"/> <record value="7" file="tcs/icons/foot/left_foot" red_replacement="bg range4"/> <record value="8" file="tcs/icons/foot/left_foot" red_replacement="bg range4"/> <record value="9" file="tcs/icons/foot/left_foot" red_replacement="bg range8"/> <record value="10" file="tcs/icons/foot/left_foot" red_replacement="bg range8"/> <record value="11" file="tcs/icons/foot/left_foot" red_replacement="bg range8"/> <record value="12" file="tcs/icons/foot/left_foot" red_replacement="bg range12"/> <record value="13" file="tcs/icons/foot/left_foot" red_replacement="bg range12"/> <record value="14" file="tcs/icons/foot/left_foot" red_replacement="bg range12"/> <record value="15" file="tcs/icons/foot/left_foot" red_replacement="bg range16"/> <record value="16" file="tcs/icons/foot/left_foot" red_replacement="bg range16"/> <record value="17" file="tcs/icons/foot/left_foot" red_replacement="bg range16"/> <record value="18" file="tcs/icons/foot/left_foot" red_replacement="bg range20"/> <record value="19" file="tcs/icons/foot/left_foot" red_replacement="bg range20"/> <record value="20" file="tcs/icons/foot/left_foot" red_replacement="bg range20"/> </list> </class> Still find it amusing that the first icons I ever added were in an add on to your skin and that folder name remains!

Been playing around with what I can change on the Team Squad overview by going further than just showing attributes differently: Showing preferred foot 'graphically' as well as utilising a different icon for 'good' or 'bad' in some hidden attributes. Plus, I've been messing with the tags for the players, adding the portrait as standard and a descriptor, too.

Gutted to hear this! I'll be looking out for whatever you do next though...

And one of the only professional footballers I've ever seen to use anti-glare paint under his eyes! Some shot stopper he was!

Thank you - hope you enjoy the rest of the read! It was a tough choice but that ceiling felt like it’d take a few years to break down. Their new manager spent all of the money I raised last year and they didn’t improve, at all. Elfsborg has everything I had at GIF, with much more potential! No - that’s Excel. I just use the same font and colour palette and in the skin, which is the Statman skin made by me! It’s in the download area if you wanted to have a look. Thanks for the kind words!

Can't say I'm aware of his but, in my save, he's scored more than ten each season for Kiel in the 2.Bundesliga and has a value of more than €10m, so this looks like a bargain! Gyabuaa is a player I've managed before though and I think he's great! Always tough to build after promotion - does this window see your tactical style change? Do you feel you'll require more help on the wings?

Chilavert was something else! I like this little add on you've got here - it's all about the engagement for you with unknown players, so it's something I'd look at, too.

Lovely little idea you've got here Shrew! Will be following along.

Thank you. These words mean a lot to me! Thanks! Yeah, the report makes me kind of feel like the Head of Analysis, as well as the Head of most other things! Still, I love the depth I can dig into and find out things - even if I'm still very much learning about how to change them for us. In terms of my latest shape thoughts - the idea of overlapping wing backs is great but, should I actually use the retrained wingers, I then have no wingers left! Enter the Libero/Inverted Wingback/Carrilero idea... I can create a bit of false width with those players, hoping that the opponent's midfielders follow them, allowing for most progression options from the IWB(a) role, moving into midfield to be the main like with the Trequartista - in very TAA territory! Unfortunately, I don't have a TAA, nor has this idea made it past the tactical board and onto the pitch as I'm busy making some transfer moves!

Thanks both. The opposition stuff is fairly simple - it’s still a CTRL+P from the competition page as I’ve created a panel with them all in - but there is a bit of fiddling to align and add headings once inside Excel. It’s a labour of love though, as, as you say, it allows that granular level of analysis, which is the route I want to take and want to write about. Yeah, it is. When they released a patch, they amended it to a per90 metric rather than a total one but the short text string seems to have not been amended to match the long one. Thank you! I certainly didn’t expect it that early on. Realistically, it takes a year, maybe, off my time here but I’m still really exciting to see what I can build over the off season, with a couple of deals already having been arranged.

We move up the list of champions as the title is wrapped up - my first top flight title of this career and an outstanding achievement in my first season at the club. We record a record points total in the Allsvenskan, but know that both second and third would've won the league in three of previous four seasons (minus 2025 where we won it with 70 points, which was the previous record) - a real testament to the quality of the two in the chasing pack. As for other records, we also recorded the most goals scored and best defence since game started as well as the fewest league defeats in a season since 1950 and, in player awards, the most assists by one player (Bernhardsson - 10). A truly remarkable season but, surely, there will be some summer changes for the likes of Malmo - the richest team in the league - and Norrkoping, Goteborg and AIK, all of whom have significantly underperformed. It's nice to see that Sundsvall got over their bad start and to finish one place and eight points worse off than last season, but, clearly, still haven't got over their scoring issues, with only Sirius - draw specialists, finishing above them with less goals. This success has, obviously, turned some heads: job offers from Hoffenheim, FC Utrecht and Valencia.have all come in the days immediately after the GAIS win but, as of right now, there is no interest in a move. I don't want to go from building a club in the Swedish tier, focusing on being sensible with money and exploring tactical routes to a club, like Hoffenheim, where money seems to be no object. Not until I've hit the glass ceiling here, at least. Whilst we're still in the Conference League for now, next August will see us enter the premier European competition - the Champions League - in the playoff pathway, just two games from the league stage windfall and reputation boost. Our Conference League playoff got off to the worst start as we battered Farul but they scored with their only shot of the game after a brisk counter attack, worthy of 0.89xG. We created over 2.00xG but really struggled against a side who, for once, out passed us in the final third: sixty-four to fifty-five, having over 60% of the ball, too. I did, however, feel that we'd have the upper hand away from home. Back to league action and goals from Okkels and Mbacke, both from well worked free kicks from Bernhardsson was the difference between us and Varnamo, who, in the flip from Europe, had less than 30% of the ball. We visited Romania and our expansive style continued as they mustered just one more shot, this time not going in. Three first half goals, two from Brusberg and one from Noor Ouma meant that my largely-rotated team continued into the next round. We book ended our goals against Sirius as Paulo Vitor’s early run and strike gave us an early lead before we were pegged back from a shot that I really feel Macagno should save. Substitute Riasco made the most of a counter attack after their keeper had gone up for the corner to round off the win in a rare xG loss. Into September, and a second string put five past Vasalunds with Libyan Al-Ruwaili following in the footsteps of many as the 'needs to score' penalty taker, getting his first for the club as we racked up nearly four expected goals. Another xG battering against Mjallby, where nearly four xG again resulted in just two goals: a beautiful through ball from Bernhardsson finished well by Brusberg before Baidoo's cross was met by Ayari who shot low and hard to double the lead. Some soft defending allowed Mjallby to get a cross in, which was converted just before the twenty minute mark. Following that, we went berserk but couldn't find any more goals to add to our tally. We also netted twice against a poor Malmo side, underperforming our xG for the second game in a row but restricting them to just three shots for a total of 0.11xG themselves. Ayari and Brusberg scoring the goals for the second game in a row. The duo combined again in our first league phase game against a good Zurich side who bettered us in most metrics, except the goalscoring one! Kallander joined the Ayari/Brusberg party against Goteborg with a twenty yard net-buster. October started with a tough draw away at Hammarby; we controlled most areas of the game but were unable to apply quite enough pressure to put space between the then-second placed team. The goals did flow against Bromma, as four xG, including a penalty, rained down on our opponents as Lahdo found the net for the first time since his broken leg. Olympiakos showed that Europe is still our 'target' in a plucky win as we out-xG'ed them by 3:1, as they scored from half of their shots. Farul all over again! A team who want the ball but don't particularly create or finish well but then drop into a super compact defensive shape seem to be our nemesis and we must learn how to overcome them! Against Degerfors, two penalties from Al-Ruwaili (again, same tactic used as before), laid the foundations for a beautiful bit of build up play, finished by Brusberg. A guard of honour led us out for the Halmstads tie as we'd wrapped up the league and we certainly put on a show - zero shots on target for the opponents with Brusberg's double and a Noor Ouma strike sealing the win. Another Conference League battering with nothing to show against Slovacko, the side from Czechia. Bernhardsson started us off well but we squandered too many good chances. We did the same in the final league game against GAIS, but Noor Ouma came to our rescue in injury time, poking in a low cross to finish the season with another three points. However, we still have three tough European ties to come: We currently sit in 20th place, good enough for a playoff slot, but, ideally, wanting more. All of our opponents feel very much like FM clubs - those that can be relatively quickly turned into domestic champions and allow a focus on Europe, very similar to ourselves actually. --- It’s a squad game… One of the things that I have made a concerted effort to build on this year is using the entirety of the squad but not building myself into the rigidity of two players per position. This, for me, has often led to unhappy players and unrealistic demands from them. Below shows the comparison between our players based on the minutes that they have been at the club for. I, sadly, can't work out how many they were available for, taking into account injuries but it does correctly allow me to compare the starting squad with the additions of Eriksson and Ayari, who came in July. I don't want to be all Mikel Arteta about the rotation of keepers but I would really like a cup keeper and I don't feel Ronning is good enough for that. Likewise, I do have my concerns about Macagno and certainly don't feel that he'd happily settle for second choice if I was to upgrade him. There are some questions about this area, particularly with Persson returning from his loan at relegated Varnamo, having experienced top flight football. In defence, there is a stark drop off between my four starters: Vitor, Jeng, Mbacke and Eriksson to the four backup players. I did some looking into this and, actually, they are more successful than the starters, if using the Team/Conceded per90 metric to gauge that. However, they are often used for our weaker ties in the league and were used extensively in the Svenska Cup and early rounds of the UECL. My feelings are that I can't really trust them even though, statistically, nothing hugely stands out. Paulo Vitor has the most amazing statistic this season though - his key tackle numbers (15 this season) account for over 40% of his total tackles. Truly a man who we can rely on. This, too, may be an area I look to focus on over the break - bringing through some more quality to rotate defensively with. In midfield, the choice to replace two players - Coumbassa and Wilkman with one, Ayari, seems to have paid off. I have been able to rotate but also give considerable minutes to the form players - namely Ouma, who, in turn, has developed into one of the best in the league. Unfortunately, Lahdo has missed most of the season with injury and has somewhat been left behind with my tactical moves. There is interest in him, and, whilst broken leg isn't a recurring injury, I do have some questions to ask about his long term future. Up top, the minutes have been shared quite evenly. I didn't expect Brusberg to be this involved this early on but an injury to Riasco saw him miss a good chunk at the start of the season and Isak has never looked back, finishing as the league's top scorer this year. I do feel that there is an opportunity to now cash in on Riasco, should a player a little more suited to my style become available. This squad game has also led to a really nice sharing of goal contributions this season, as seen here: My first thoughts are linked to just how long term this can be. I compared our data with any Allsvenskan player with over three goals or three assists and the average xG performance was +0.05, whilst the median xG performance was +0.04. We have eleven regular scorers above those measures. Whilst I am delighted with the outcomes now, my task is to keep these players performing as well as they are. The likes of Rapp, Riasco and Wester - all non-first team players, are performing really well in these metrics and I must ensure that we maintain the competition and drive for first team places and, where needed, stretch things - weaker opposition, penalty taking etc feel great ways to do this - to ensure that we're not settling for mediocrity and a prescribed first XI and backups. --- All shapes and sizes: With greater results comes a greater emphasis on getting greater results still. Therefore, I need to be able to consider my approach against a variety of opposition, being able to effectively tackle any scenario we are faced with. Our main shape builds in a 343 with a central box, but, whilst that allows us possession at the back and the ability to create space and overloads going forward, it's not always the most effective, particularly against teams that are forcing us wide. I've managed to create two further shapes that have had a little bit of play time so far this season: 2232 shape – this shape gives me a trapezium in midfield, and the narrower left winger creates a strong overload up top – yes, we are losing possession here but that is a risk that comes with this defensive build up. We recovered with Jeng as the covering defender. This utilised the L(s) - as usual - with two WB(s) on each side. 253 shape – utilising a Lib(s) and HB(d) to create more rushing when transitioning from the back. Two WB(s) provide width whilst IW(a) and IW(s) cut in as ball progresses. The middle is packed and I need to get players onto the ball. 2v1 in our favour with Vitor and Wester, which is easiest way to progress and draw defenders out. However, the issue with both of these is that by current full backs, Jeng and Mbacke are not naturally offensive players, hence utilising a more central build up. I currently have Rapp as an excellent example of what I've been working on with both Okkels and Bernhardsson - seeing two players with no potential left to fill being repurposed as full backs so that I can do this if I want to. Judging by their defensive attributes, they're actually no worse than Karlsson, who has sat in as the backup full back. However, in the longer term, I think the utilisation of the back three - IFB(D), BPD(D), IFB(D) - is probably the way forward with the squad that I've got but, I'm also exploring the use of the CAR(s) role to create faux-wide men that allow us, maybe, to bypass a central block. As part of my skin creation, I was able to build this information into the competition panel but now, by extracting each season, I can start to back up my desire for tactical fluidity with historical data for the teams I will play. Each metric is coloured on a scale from green (best) to red (worst) below: There are some really nice things to see here: we, on average, end the game with our xG 1.26 higher than our xGA, head and shoulders above everyone other than Djurgardens, who do it from a similarly strong defence as ours. It'll be interesting to see what they do offensively in the off-season to try and move away from Hammarby. We are the best team with the ball once we have it in terms of our possession differential (poss lost - poss won) but - actually - could use it to create a little more in terms of high quality chances, allowing us to hit the target more often. You'd also expect draw masters Sirius to face more issues next year but look at Hacken who are just in need of a goalkeeper who can keep the ball out or Goteborg who are just in need of someone to create chances for their forwards, before the table starts to look very different. With this information, I am able to compile more detailed reports on teams I am facing and managers. I can, conceivably, create notes that look like: "IFK Varnamo: concede lots of goals - 17 placed shots and 11 headers. Push them wide, as their crossing accuracy is also poor. Concede most before half time. Weak against 433 shapes. Most goals come from their left back area but significant number from corners. Score mainly with placed shots - high xG chances. Most goals come early in the game. Not scored after 60 minutes in last twenty games. Goals shared between ST and MC. Manager likes 442 counter attack with no specific tendencies." I feel that I need this deep sense of understanding about how teams play against us in order to best prepare to play against them. This is so much more than just assembling the best team - this is me trying to push the boundaries of my tactical knowledge to get the best out of the playing squad that may or may not be the strongest. --- Preparing for the future… Our youth intake arrived and there are several players who I am looking to take a closer look at over the coming years: Salih Erkol | Patrik Ortorp | Besnik Daci | Emmanuel Linden | Enzo Moller These will join the highly successful youth team whereby I'll monitor and discuss their development with them, working towards a loan deal in the next two to three years. --- What a first season I've had here at Elfsborg! I love the club and I think that there is so much more we can explore. I'm elated, if a little surprised, at our league performance and do not want it to become a chore whilst I look to progress in European competition. I do hope that teams successfully strengthen over the winter break and there is some more competition, given that I've not lost in the league since arriving over a year ago and have the first invincible season for nearly eighty years!

2M is a good starting point! How are you approaching scouting this summer? Always tough, I find, after a promotion when reputation is off and players assume you’re going to come straight back down.

What did you change between game builds so that this one will reward your hard work with Europe?

My favourite type of window! Not sure why I hadn't commented until now but, given my love of calcio and the hook that you're writing style brings - I'm enjoying it! Congrats on the promotion. Any realistic aims for next year or does that depend on how the summer is?

I, too, have fallen down this rabbit hole of late! --- You're producing some absolutely fantastic youngsters and have always been someone I've admired in the way that you develop them.